Phosphorus (P) is a crucial limiting nutrient in soil ecosystems, significantly influencing soil fertility and plant productivity. Soil microorganisms adapt to phosphorus deficiency and enhance soil phosphorus effectiveness through various mechanisms, which are notably influenced by land use practices. This study examined the impact of different land use types (long-term continuous maize farmland, abandoned evolving grassland, artificial tamarisk forests, artificial ash forests, and wetlands) on soil phosphorus-cycling functional genes within the Tanyang Forest Farm in a typical region of the Yellow River alluvial plain using macro genome sequencing technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe wide use of nano‑titanium dioxide (nano-TiO) and its ubiquitous emission into aquatic environments are threatening environmental health. Ambient temperature can affect the aggregation state of nano-TiO in seawater, thus influencing the intake and physiological effects on marine species. We studied the physiological effects of mixed nano-TiO (a mixture of anatase and rutile crystals with an average particle size of 25 nm, P25) on mussels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) generally exhibit mutually beneficial co-sorption behavior on iron oxyhydroxides through multiple mechanisms, including surface precipitation, ternary surface complexes, and electrostatic interactions. However, the numerous factors that control the immobilization of Cd and As in turn complicated the processes and mechanisms involved in their co-desorption from iron minerals, which hindered the full understanding of their geochemical behaviors. Here, the simultaneous release of Cd(II) and As(V) from newly precipitated ferrihydrite nanoparticles by either Ca or P was investigated through kinetics and isothermal desorption experiments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCapillarity-driven transport in nanoporous solids is widespread in nature and crucial for modern liquid-infused engineering materials. During imbibition, curved menisci driven by high negative Laplace pressures exert an enormous contractile load on the porous matrix. Due to the challenge of simultaneously monitoring imbibition and deformation with high spatial resolution, the resulting coupling of solid elasticity to liquid capillarity has remained largely unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe intricate process of shell biomineralization in marine molluscs is governed by a complex interplay of regulatory elements, encompassing secretomes, transporters, and noncoding RNA. This review delves into recent advancements in understanding these regulatory mechanisms, emphasizing their significance in elucidating the functions and evolutionary dynamics of the molluscan shell biomineralization process. Central to this intricate orchestration are secretomes with diverse functional domains, selectively exported to the extrapallial space, which directly regulate crystal growth and morphology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiscotic ionic liquid crystals (DILCs) consist of self-assembled superdiscs of cations and anions that spontaneously stack in linear columns with high one-dimensional ionic and electronic charge mobility, making them prominent model systems for functional soft matter. Compared to classical nonionic discotic liquid crystals, many liquid crystalline structures with a combination of electronic and ionic conductivity have been reported, which are of interest for separation membranes, artificial ion/proton conducting membranes, and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, a homogeneous alignment of the DILCs on the macroscale is often not achievable, which significantly limits the applicability of DILCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the increasing use of oral contraceptives and estrogen replacement therapy, the incidence of estrogen-induced cholestasis (EC) has tended to rise. Psoralen (P) and isopsoralen (IP) are the major bioactive components in Psoraleae Fructus, and their estrogen-like activities have already been recognized. Recent studies have also reported that ERK1/2 plays a critical role in EC in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoastal habitats are exposed to increasing pressure of nanopollutants commonly combined with warming due to the seasonal temperature cycles and global climate change. To investigate the toxicological effects of TiO nanoparticles (TiO NPs) and elevated temperature on the intestinal health of the mussels (Mytilus coruscus), the mussels were exposed to 0.1 mg/L TiO NPs with different crystal structures for 14 days at 20 °C and 28 °C, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
October 2023
The almost simultaneous emergence of major animal phyla during the early Cambrian shaped modern animal biodiversity. Reconstructing evolutionary relationships among such closely spaced branches in the animal tree of life has proven to be a major challenge, hindering understanding of early animal evolution and the fossil record. This is particularly true in the species-rich and highly varied Mollusca where dramatic inconsistency among paleontological, morphological, and molecular evidence has led to a long-standing debate about the group's phylogeny and the nature of dozens of enigmatic fossil taxa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe carnivorous gastropod Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) is one of the most notorious ecological invaders worldwide. Here, we present the first high-quality chromosome-scale reference R. venosa genome obtained via PacBio sequencing, Illumina paired-end sequencing, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture scaffolding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmay play an important role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression and promoter methylation of . Cell proliferation assays, spheroid culture, flow cytometry analysis, Transwell assays and xenotransplantation tests were utilized to determine the functional effects of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic cancer is an extremely aggressive malignancy with a very disappointing prognosis. Neuroglobin (NGB), a member of the globin family, has been demonstrated to have a significant role in a variety of tumor forms. The possible role of NGB as a tumor suppressor gene in pancreatic cancer was investigated in this work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous studies have revealed the spread mechanism of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in single antibiotic-contaminated soils. However, the comprehensive impacts of heavy metals and antibiotics on ARGs and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Here, high-throughput quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing were used to investigate changes in ARGs and bacterial communities under various sulfamethoxazole (SMX) regimes (0, 1, 10, 50 mg kg) in arsenic (As) contaminated soils.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastic pollution is a major threat to the marine environment attracting attention from scientific and public communities. Although we have sufficient evidence that microplastic is ubiquitous in all ecosystems, the question of the harmfulness of microplastic exposure is still under debate. Filter feeders like bivalves are commonly exposed to microplastics in water and sediments and thus can serve as excellent biological indicators for microplastic pollution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSince the beginning of the 21st century, the increasing production and application of nano-TiO in consumer products have inevitably led to its release into aquatic systems and therefore caused the exposure of aquatic organisms, resulting in growing environmental concerns. However, the safety of nano-TiO in aquatic environments has not been systematically assessed, especially in coastal and estuary waters where a large number of filter-feeding animals live. Bivalves are considered around the world to be a unique target group for nanoparticle toxicity, and numerous studies have been conducted to test the toxic effects of nano-TiO on bivalves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCadmium (Cd) is easily enriched in rice, resulting in an excessive Cd content in the grain, which seriously threatens human health. Manganese (Mn) is an essential element of plants. In a field experiment on Cd-contaminated acid soils, we investigated the effectiveness and mechanism of Mn in minimizing Cd accumulation in rice via foliar spraying using 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeptide antigens have been widely used in the development of vaccines, especially for those against autoimmunity-inducing pathogens and cancers. However, peptide-based vaccines require adjuvant and/or a delivery system to stimulate desired immune responses. Here, we explored the potential of self-adjuvanting poly(hydrophobic amino acids) (pHAAs) to deliver peptide-based vaccine against Group A (GAS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T polymorphism is considered as a predisposition and promising genetic candidate to major depressive disorder (MDD), as it is associated with impaired one-carbon cycles, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of depression. Cortical thickness (CT) and subcortical structure volumes have been extensively studied in MDD and have been proposed as one of the phenotypes for MDD. We intend to discuss the association between CT, subcortical structure volume, and C677T polymorphism in first-episode, treatment-naive patients with MDD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic particles cause toxic effects on marine organisms but whether food particles can affect the toxic effects of plastic particles on filter feeding animals remains unknown. To evaluate the intake and physiological effects of different size particles and their exposure ways, the thick shell mussels Mytilus coruscus were exposed to polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics (NPs, 70 nm) and microplastics (MPs, 10 µm) respectively for two weeks by mixing NPs/MPs with microalgae or exposed to MNPs individually after feeding. Intake of particles and their physiological effects including energy budget, digestive enzymes and oxidative responses were assessed after exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUND Oncolytic viruses (OVs) can specifically infect and kill tumor cells. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a widely-studied OV. This study aimed to construct a tumor-targeted recombinant AAV using genetic engineering technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTitanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO ) are widely used in consumer products, raising environmental and health concerns. An overview of the toxic effects of nano-TiO on human and environmental health is provided. A meta-analysis is conducted to analyze the toxicity of nano-TiO to the liver, circulatory system, and DNA in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoxarsone is a phenyl-substituted arsonic acid comprising both arsenate and benzene rings. Few adsorbents are designed for the effective capture of both the organic and inorganic moieties of ROX molecules. Herein, nano zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles were incorporated on the surface of sludge-based biochar (SBC) to fabricate a dual-affinity sorbent that attracts both the arsenate and benzene rings of ROX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiterpenoid lactones (DLs), a group of furan-containing compounds found in Dioscorea bulbifera L. (DB), have been reported to be associated with hepatotoxicity. Different hepatotoxicities of these DLs have been observed in vitro, but reasonable explanations for the differential hepatotoxicity have not been provided.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDictamnine (DTN), a major furoquinoline alkoloid from Dictamni Cortex, was reported to induce hepatotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In the present study, integrated transcriptomic and metabolomics analysis of mouse liver was performed in combination with serum biochemical and histopathological evaluation to investigate the potential mechanism.
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